The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1887-05-11

which great lunar mountains co,ht
alone have been formed. Denudation
though it has not, as some imagine
left the lunar craters alone, has takel
comparatively little from their impos
ing dimensions. In other words, littl
material has been borrowed from tn,
craters to make mountain ranges. Con
sequently, the mountain ranges of tn,
moon are few, and they can not be com
pared, either in length or height, will
the chief mountain ranges on tn,
earth.
The moon in this not only tells us o.
the past OF our earth and explains how
our mountain ranges have beer
formed, but enables us also to read the
meaning OF those more ancient mount.
ain ranges on the earth which, because
OF their greater age, have been in great
part worn down. These and these
alone correspondent with the mount
ain ranges on the moon. Or, rather,
if any do, these are they. But quite
probably all the really ancient mount.
ain ranges in the earth have long
since disappeared.
But just here point of considerable
interest arises. Since there are mount
ain ranges on the moon, these must
presumably have been formed as the
mountain ranges on the earth were
formed long since. Now all our mount
ain ranges were formed under water,
as we have seen. May we not, then,
infer, with at least a considerable de-
gree OF priori probability, that the
mass out of which. for example, the
lunar Apennines were formed, was
once beneath the waters of a widely
extending lunar ocean, On either side
OF the Apennines extend broad. dark
tracts such as l have long maintained,
for quite different reasons, to be floors
OF ancient lunar seas. But these seas
which, when the lunar Apennines were
being raised, were separated by the
rising range, must before that process
have formed a single ocean. Hundreds
OF thousands of years must have passed
while the mass of matter was being de-
posted in a deep trough-like depres-
sion, out of which the lunar Apennines
were afterward to be carved and
chiseled by process of denudation.
During all this time layer after layer
of matter was being deposited over The
floor OF the whole ocean, though of
course more was collected in the de-
preston than on either side of it. r.
regularities before existing on the SUBJ
merged surface would be obliterated
by these deposited layers. The surface
eventually disclosed when the waters
had retreated would be level compared
with the crater-covered regions which
during those hundreds of thousands of
years had remained above the ocean
surface.
But might we not expect to find some
traces of the buried continents over
which these deep layers of ocean mud
had been spread? Multiplied expert
ences show how persistently such IT.
attest their presence, even
when lying beneath depths of deposited
natter such as we might expect to hide
hem altogether.
When the so-called lunar "seas" are
examined we find features which seem
'nly applicable as precisely such traces
If long-buried lunar lands we might
expect to find. They have been called
BY some the ghosts of craters. They
lave the forms and dimensions of such
,raters as we find in other parts of the
noon, but unlike them they are rather
markings in level surface than con-
our features. They cast no shadows,
heir interior is never cast into shadow.
They differ from actual craters much
IS fairy rings differ from ringed wall
having similar span.
have little hesitation myself in say
NC that the so-called lunar seas speak
lot only of the past existence of &C tual
cas- on the moon, but tell us of buried
unar lands. They tell us also some
hing of the history Of our own buried
and enable us to read more
learly than we otherwise might the
neaning of those traces of the former
resence of water where now there is
and which no doubt gave rise to the
in nearly every land, of
ormer flood.
Lastly, if the moon tells us of the |
arth's remote past she foretells also |
er remote future. Already, accord
lg to the geology of to-day, more than
ne-third of the waters once existing
n the earth have disappeared. But !
he time will come when our earth,
Ike the moon now, will only attest by
ry sea floors the former existence of |
cas- upon her crust. Another change
lso, scarcely less inconsistent with
he belief that life will be possible for
yer hereafter on the earth, is indi-
ated on the moon. No one now be-
ewes that the moons peculiar rota-
ion, which results in keeping always
ne same lunar. face turned earth
'ard, has existed forever. Doupt-
ess the moon once, like the earth
ow, turned on her axis at such a rate
S to have a day of moderate length.
low. she has been constrained by ter
estrlal forces which must have re-
uired million of years for their opera
on, to turn always at such rate that
he always look: with the same aspect
n her ruling mistress. But if she thus